IEDA approves five company projects, awards one startup

Last Friday, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved tax incentive awards to five Iowa companies, which will assist in the creation of 55 jobs and more than $82 million for the state.

The five companies to receive funding are located in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and West Des Moines. All five of the projects were awarded through the IEDA’s High Quality Jobs program.

Below is a breakdown of the awards approved and announced by the IEDA last week:

Project Name

Location

Jobs Created

Qualifying Wage

Project Cost

Bio Springer & Lesaffre Yeast

Cedar Rapids

5

$22.27

$29,000,000

Lincoln Savings Bank

Waterloo

40

$18.49

$18,305,000

Warren Transport

Waterloo

4

$18.49

$8,650,000

Worley Warhousing

Cedar Rapids

3

$22.27

$3,750,000

Wright Service

West Des Moines

3

$31.13

$23,050,772

55

$82,755,772

Bio Springer plans production expansion in Cedar Rapids

Bio Springer North America Corporation will expand the production capabilities of its yeast operations in Cedar Rapids. The project is expected to generate $29 million in new capital investment and create five jobs at a qualifying wage of $22.27 per hour.

Worley Warehousing company expands warehousing capabilities

Worley Warehousing, a Cedar Rapids-based third-party logistics company that specializes in food-grade warehousing, will lease a build-to-suit 250,000-square-foot facility near The Eastern Iowa Airport.

Lincoln Savings Bank acquires additional workspace

In 2014, LSBX, a subsidiary of Lincoln Savings Bank, launched its fintech initiative, which merges traditional payment systems with new and emerging technologies. The project includes the acquisition and renovation of two floors in the Techworks 1 Building in Waterloo plus significant infrastructure improvements to the building.

Warren Transport to construct new corporate headquarters

Warren Transport, an over-the-road trucking operation that ships products across North America, will use the funding for construction of a new corporate headquarters and a vehicle maintenance facility. Warren Transport’s subsidiaries, Warren Specialized Logistics, and Iowa Loading Services, also will be located within the new facility.

Wright Service Corporation company to construct new facilities

Wright Service Corporation provides integrated vegetation management solutions, residential/commercial landscaping and commercial environmental products. To accommodate current and future growth plans, the company has purchased approximately 28 acres of land in West Des Moines. The company will construct an 80,000-square-foot office building to house its headquarters operations.

Award made to Iowa City startup

The board also approved innovation funding in support of a startup located in Iowa City.

The startup, Inseer, was founded in June 2018 and develops software to prevent, predict and mitigate workplace injuries using the power of ergonomics, computer vision and deep machine learning.

The company was awarded a $100,000 loan from the Demonstration Fund for IP development and evaluation, product refinement, key personnel and equipment.